Design and Numerical Simulation of the Headworks in the Shizuishan Section of the Yellow River
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The content of the article does not cause much objection. The main remark: it is need to describe in more detail the procedure for validating the model, as well as its calibration (if calibration was provided).
It is necessary to note some negligence of the presentation, often the necessary explanations of the terms are missing.
The comments along the text
Line 24 (also 91 and further)
at the fish mouth of the channel head
Please, describe fish mouth structure when this term first time appears in the text (Line 91).
Line 25 and further
thickness of 1d in operating condition
Please, explain 1d
Line 71
finding that smaller particle size sediment is more susceptible to settling and accumulation.
Please, explain why?
Line 84
Alomari[23] conducted physical experiments to investigate the effects of channel angle
Please, explain, what is channel angle?
Figures 1, 2, 6
Please, add the horizontal scale
Line 124
SMS software
Please, open the abbreviation
Equations 1-4
Not all symbols were described, some omitted, some terms (like the radiation stress or single wide source term) need for explanation.
2.4. Model validation
Please, provide more information about measurements technic and conditions. What kind of model calibration was used to get good similarity of measured and calculated velocities and sediment concentrations.
Author Response
Reply to editors and reviewers' comments on revisions
Thank you for taking the time to review our manuscript and provide constructive feedback. We appreciate your insights and suggestions, and have made the necessary revisions to address your comments.
Reviewer #1
（1）Line 24 (also 91 and further)at the fish mouth of the channel head Please, describe fish mouth structure when this term first time appears in the text (Line 91).
Answer:
Many thanks for the expert's detailed opinions and suggestions. A fish mouth is a specialized architectural structure designed to manage the velocity and orientation of fluidic currents. This study investigated the utilization of fish mouths with a diminutive arch-shaped geometrical configuration, situated near the concave bank of the river channel, thus segmenting the river into an internal and external flow path. The fluidic flow entering the arch-shaped space through the upper portion of the fish mouth experienced a reduction in velocity, while the fluidic flow entering through the lower portion produced a robust fluidic current. Consequently, the fish mouth serves as a means to optimize fluidic distribution and effectively modulate fluidic velocity and orientation. The term has already been explained in line 205 of the article, the modification is marked in red.
（2）Line 25 and further thickness of 1d in operating condition，Please, explain 1d.
Answer:
"1d" in this article means "1 day" for time correction, with the amended content being indicated by a red annotation in the text.
(3) finding that smaller particle size sediment is more susceptible to settling and accumulation. Please, explain why?
Answer:
Thank you very much for your meticulous and professional questions. Smaller-grained sediment in rivers are more susceptible to deposition and accumulation due to their reduced volume, which results in a lower level of erosive force exerted by the water flow. The river current is composed of two water layers with varying velocities, with higher water speeds leading to smaller suspended particle sizes. As particle size decreases, the likelihood of being transported and subsequently deposited by the water flow increases. Therefore, smaller-grained sediment is more readily deposited and accumulated in rivers, with the amended content being indicated by a red annotation in the text.
(4)Line 84 Alomari[23] conducted physical experiments to investigate the effects of channel angle Please, explain, what is channel angle?
Answer:
Thank you very much for your meticulous and professional questions. The channel angle refers to the angle between the channel of an irrigation canal and its head, so the modification is marked in red.
(5) Figures 1, 2, 6 Please, add the horizontal scale
Answer:
Thank you very much for your professional and detailed feedback. Figures 1, 2, and 6 have already been added with a horizontal scale, see the original text for the revised content.
(6) Line 124 SMS software Please, open the abbreviation
Answer:
Thank the experts for their detailed advice. The full name of SMS is Surface Water Modeling System, with the amended content being indicated by a red annotation in the text.
(7) Equations 1-4, Not all symbols were described, some omitted, some terms (like the radiation stress or single wide source term) need for explanation.
Answer:
Thank you to the reviewer for their meticulous and comprehensive feedback. In equations 1-4, the symbols and terminology have been fully explained, and the revised portions are highlighted in red.
(8) 2.4. Model validation. Please, provide more information about measurements technic and conditions. What kind of model calibration was used to get good similarity of measured and calculated velocities and sediment concentrations.
Answer:
Thank you to the reviewer for providing valuable feedback. The text has been supplemented with technical information such as measurement techniques. The theoretical basis for the model validation discussed in the text is the control equation previously described, with the revised sections clearly indicated in red.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments on Review:
1. This paper mainly explores the influence of fishmouth on river sediment transport. It is suggested that the author add relevant literature about fishmouth in the introduction, while those unrelated to river bed morphology should be deleted.
2. Starting from section 3.1.1 of this paper, the figure order in the text is not consistent with the actual figure order, and we hope that the authors will make good corrections to keep the figure correspondence.
3. In the vector map of flow distribution at the fishmouth, it is recommended to indicate the flow velocity legend, which is used to show that the outer river flow field strength is less than the inner river.
4. In section 3.2 of this paper, no data graph can be seen after simulation with measured flow, so it is hoped that the author can make appropriate supplement.
5. It is not recommended to use the same line type for the two operating curves in Figure 9 and Figure 10, but a solid line and a dashed line can be used instead to make the data in the graph more distinguishable.
6. The total irrigation period of 50-60 days per year was mentioned earlier, while only 3 days were considered in section 3.4 of this paper. It is suggested to increase the number of study days to ensure that it is close to the actual situation and more convincing.
Author Response
Reply to editors and reviewers' comments on revisions
Thank you for taking the time to review our manuscript and provide constructive feedback. We appreciate your insights and suggestions, and have made the necessary revisions to address your comments.
Reviewer #2
（1）This paper mainly explores the influence of fishmouth on river sediment transport. It is suggested that the author add relevant literature about fishmouth in the introduction, while those unrelated to river bed morphology should be deleted.
Answer:
We express our gratitude to the esteemed reviewer for providing insightful feedback. In response to the reviewer's comments, this article employs numerical simulation techniques to address the issue of sediment accumulation in the diversion canal, leveraging the operational principles of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Furthermore, pertinent literature pertaining to fish mouth has been incorporated into the introduction, with the revised sections appropriately highlighted in red.
（2）Starting from section 3.1.1 of this paper, the figure order in the text is not consistent with the actual figure order, and we hope that the authors will make good corrections to keep the figure correspondence.
Answer:
Thank you for providing your feedback. We have revised the figure numbering in accordance with the guidelines for scientific writing. The figures now accurately align with the text and are appropriately labeled.
(3) In the vector map of flow distribution at the fishmouth, it is recommended to indicate the flow velocity legend, which is used to show that the outer river flow field strength is less than the inner river.
Answer:
Thank you for the thorough review. We have incorporated the legend for the fish mouth water flow distribution diagram into the image, and the revised content can be found in Figure 6 of the manuscript.
(4) In section 3.2 of this paper, no data graph can be seen after simulation with measured flow, so it is hoped that the author can make appropriate supplement.
Answer:
Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have completed the simulation of the cloud map in Section 3.2 and included the relevant figures in the manuscript. Please refer to Figure 7 and Figure 8 for details.
(5) It is not recommended to use the same line type for the two operating curves in Figure 9 and Figure 10, but a solid line and a dashed line can be used instead to make the data in the graph more distinguishable.
Answer:
Thank you for your valuable input. We have revised the lines in Figure 9 and Figure 10 to dashed lines to facilitate better differentiation and clarity of the presented data.
(6) The total irrigation period of 50-60 days per year was mentioned earlier, while only 3 days were considered in section 3.4 of this paper. It is suggested to increase the number of study days to ensure that it is close to the actual situation and more convincing.
Answer:
Thank you for the feedback provided by the reviewer. The study was conducted in the Yellow River irrigation area of Ningxia, with an irrigation area of less than 1000 acres and maize as the primary crop. The irrigation channel operates intermittently during the irrigation period and is supplemented by some rainfall. The irrigation events have a duration of three days, and routine maintenance of the irrigation channel is carried out periodically. As a result, the simulation period of this study is set to three days.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
This Manuscript presents an interesting and well elaborated research about the design and numerical simulation of the headworks in the Yellow River Shizuishan section in order to evaluate the scouring and deposition characteristics under varying hydrodynamic conditions and sediment inflow regimes. Some minor changes are suggested to further improve the manuscript.
Please consider to better introduce used software (SMS, MIKE 21), provide some reference and application of those software in similar studies that could be found in scientific papers.
In the section 2.1, the Figure 1(a) does not clearly depict that the study 112 area is located in the Shizuishan section of the Yellow River in Ningxia, with a length of 4km. None of those information can be found on the Figure 1(a). Similarly on the Figure 1(b). On the Figure 1(b) is a 3D view of the river bed elevation instead of the topographic map. Also, the term “Research on” on all three titles on Figure 1 does not sound right. Please consider rephrasing, and be more specific.
On line 132, the x and y should be italic.
The term “Research on” on title of the Figure 2 does not sound right. Please consider rephrasing, and be more specific. Also, please be more specific regarding titles 2(a) and 2(b).
In the section 4, please add some more comparison of your research with the results of similar studies which can be found in scientific papers.
Author Response
Reply to editors and reviewers' comments on revisions
Thank you for taking the time to review our manuscript and provide constructive feedback. We appreciate your insights and suggestions, and have made the necessary revisions to address your comments.
Reviewer #3
（1）Please consider to better introduce used software (SMS, MIKE 21), provide some reference and application of those software in similar studies that could be found in scientific papers.
Answer:
Thank you for the valuable feedback provided by the reviewer. We have incorporated a relevant case study in this article to strengthen its persuasiveness by citing it and highlighting it in red. The case study demonstrates the effective integration of SMS and MIKE 21 software, lending credibility to our findings.
（2）In the section 2.1, the Figure 1(a) does not clearly depict that the study 112 area is located in the Shizuishan section of the Yellow River in Ningxia, with a length of 4km. None of those information can be found on the Figure 1(a). Similarly on the Figure 1(b). On the Figure 1(b) is a 3D view of the river bed elevation instead of the topographic map. Also, the term “Research on” on all three titles on Figure 1 does not sound right. Please consider rephrasing, and be more specific
Answer:
Thank you for your valuable comments as the reviewer. We have addressed your suggestions by adding dimension labels to the measurement area in Figure 1(a) and including a scale bar in Figure 1(b), which serves as a 3D view of the study area. Furthermore, we have made revisions to the title of the original manuscript by replacing inappropriate terminology with more appropriate alternatives, which are highlighted in red.
(3) On line 132, the x and y should be italic.
Answer:
Thank you for your feedback. We have addressed the issue by italicizing the variables x and y in the text and highlighting them in red.
(4) The term “Research on” on title of the Figure 2 does not sound right. Please consider rephrasing, and be more specific. Also, please be more specific regarding titles 2(a) and 2(b).
Answer:
We would like to express our gratitude to the reviewers for their valuable feedback that has helped to improve the quality of our manuscript. We have carefully considered their suggestions and made the necessary revisions. Specifically, we have addressed their comment on Figure 2 by modifying the title to " Schematic diagram of the gridding of the measurement area" and by changing Figure 2(a) to "Schematic of Grid Division in Upstream Study Area" and Figure 2(b) to "Schematic of Grid Division in Downstream Study Area." These modifications have enhanced the clarity and accuracy of our illustrations.
(5) In the section 4, please add some more comparison of your research with the results of similar studies which can be found in scientific papers.
Answer:
Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have revised section 4 and conducted a comparative analysis of similar projects in Asia and Africa to enhance the scientific rigor of the article. The modified sections have been highlighted in red.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
